


Christmas Memories

by PotionsMistressM



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-03-03 18:14:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2860367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PotionsMistressM/pseuds/PotionsMistressM
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grace gives her Papa an early Christmas gift.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Memories

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Secret Santa exchange at LJ's Lands of Magic.

Grace turned the package over in her hands, suddenly nervous as she watched her Papa fussing with a tiny light bulb on the tree that had stopped working. As he pulled on it, the whole string went dark, and he muttered a curse under his breath before remembering his daughter was watching him.

"Sorry," he muttered, looking actually abashed, though _bugger_ was far tamer than most of what she heard on television or even from her classmates (she _was_ a sixth grader, after all- practically an adult). Grace only smiled at him and shrugged, and as he turned back to the tree, she took the momentary distraction of Christmas light failure as her cue to run to her room and grab the present she'd picked out specifically for this day.

When she had first seen the little set in the shop window all those months ago her heart had leapt; she had thought it would be the absolute perfect way to commemorate their life together in the Enchanted Forest while simultaneously celebrating this holiday in their new home, but the longer the box sat there in her room- practically staring at her- the less certain she'd become. Time and time again she pulled it out of its hiding place and looked it over, willing it to give her a definitive answer. Unfortunately, in a world without magic, inanimate objects tended to stay silent. When she finally decided to wrap it, she had convinced herself again of the gift's perfection, but by the time she had shoved it underneath a pile of school clothes in her closet, she was sure that it would do nothing but upset him. Once again, Grace picked up the package, now wrapped in sparkly green and silver paper, and wished she knew exactly what her father's reaction would be. He was, after all, not known for his mental stability. With a deep breath, she decided that whether he liked the gift or not, she had had nothing but good intentions in picking it out and her Papa would definitely know exactly what she was trying to convey in giving it to him.

She hoped.

Stopping in the doorway, Grace smiled at the sight of her Papa. The lights had finally come back on, but he had a scowl on his face. It appeared that the only replacement bulb he had been able to find was red, and since the light right next to that one on the string was also red, Grace knew he was bound to be unhappy. Her Papa had a knack for seeing the order of things, even in the chaos of a string of Christmas lights, and she knew how much two lights of the same color right next to each other would bother him. In an attempt to head off what she was almost sure would end in a complete unlighting and relighting of the tree, she moved into the living room and gave a little cough. When her Papa looked at her and smiled, she knew that the repetitive red lights were forgotten. At least for now.

"I got this for you," Grace stated in a shy voice, her eyes downcast and her cheeks suddenly burning red as she held the package out to him. Her Papa eyed her with mock skepticism but accepted the gift nonetheless. 

"It's not Christmas yet," he said, his eyes gliding over the shining paper and perfectly tied ribbon. 

"I know, but... I just... I need to give it to you today, when we're doing the tree."

He still looked unconvinced, but Grace gave him a look she knew would get him to acquiesce to almost anything she'd ask for, and slowly his fingers ran under the seam at the bottom of the wrapping. She held her breath, her uncertainty creeping up again, but as a smile broke out across her Papa's face she felt all of the tension leave her.

The set of Christmas tree ornaments was clearly a hold over from cursed Storybrooke, when Wonderland and Mad Hatters and girls named Alice who chased white rabbits were just stories. Of course, to the people who had manufactured the rather cartoonish set, those things were still completely fictional, but to Grace they were perfect and personal. The tea parties she'd hosted for her Papa and her animals had clearly made an impression on him since those tea parties had become the thing popular culture most associated with the Mad Hatter. She had cried the night the curse broke when she realized the Mad Hatter was her Papa- and that despite being away from her that he'd continued to have tea parties. 

Grace watched as her Papa ran his fingers over each of the little ornaments in the set- a tea cup, a white rabbit, a mock turtle, and an improbably shaped top hat, and she was a little bit embarrassed when she saw tears start to glitter in the corners of his eyes.

"Do you like them, Papa?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Her Papa didn't answer, only stooped down to her and wrapped her in a nearly bone-crushing hug. Grace didn't know exactly how long it was that he held her like that, but right before he stood up she heard him whisper in reply.

"I love you, Grace."

Grace smiled up at her Papa. It was going to be the best Christmas ever.


End file.
